You Gotta Shoot Em' In The Head
by EvilProduct
Summary: My rendition of the said mission strand. The Lone Wanderer walks into the dark and twisted world of Underworld's ghoul criminal mastermind, Mr. Crowley. I own no aspect of the Fallout series. Please Enjoy! PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Intro

**You Gotta Shoot Em' In the Head**

**Introduction**

The following story is my mission summary of _You Gotta Shoot Em' In The Head_, from the game _Fallout 3_. It was my favorite mission strand when I was playing the game and I saw a lot of potential in it. So the following story is my own revised edition of the mission strand. There are a lot of differences between it and the actual game, so please don't message me saying "I got it wrong" because I know what I did. Please Enjoy and Please Review! I love and appreciate reviews!


	2. Underworld

**Chapter 1 – Underworld**

**Vault 101**

Leaving Vault 101 was a disorienting experience. The light from the sun above nearly scarred my dark focused eyes. All I saw was a blur for the first few minutes. I was blinded.

When I regained my sight, I looked out around the wastes from the ledge on which I stood. The sign beside me read "Scenic Viewpoint", but the view was not scenic. I did not want to view it. Now I know why the Overseer had wanted us to stay inside. He wanted to shield us from the horror of this outside world.

Now I feel regret for taking my hands around his neck and squeezing. When he broke free, I pulled out the police baton I had stolen off of the dead security guard and hit him over the head with it. Blood spattered the walls, but he did not go down. How I wish Amata was not watching when I pulled out my gun and put two in her father's head. The Overseer was dead, and so was my companionship with Amata.

I had loved Amata for the longest time. No one knew me better than her. We were best friends all throughout our lives. Now that I had killed her father and she had closed Vault 101's doors behind me, I feared that I would never venture there again.

My eyes now focused to the light before me, I looked out to see the remains of a long-forgotten town to my left. I didn't dare go near it. Instead I wandered around aimlessly until I came across the sign for Megaton.

My new life had begun.

--

**Underworld – 6 Months after leaving Vault 101**

The dark bar of Underworld made me want to gag. Even Moriarty's wasn't this bad. The Ninth Circle stank of rotted flesh and meat maggots as well as it did beer and food. I hated coming here. After six months on the wastes, I would normally take refuge in the Potomac River rather than eat at the Ninth Circle.

Mr. Crowley sat across from me. The rotting business man stank of dead flesh and old bones. He had a crooked smile on his face, and I couldn't tell if it was intentional or it was just a scar. Crowley had made me do some very bad things, and I wondered if his smile was eternal because of the people he had sent me after.

Dogmeat lied on the floor beside me. He was the best friend I had anymore. He was also one of the most tenacious fighters I've ever seen. When I met Dogmeat, he was holding off three raiders with just his teeth and a couple of barks. My Chinese Officer's Sword helped to finish them off, but his teeth had done a pretty good job at deterring them.

"Do you have the keys?" Crowley asked. His breath reeked of blood and liquor.

"I do. What's it to you?" My humorous quip made him a bit angrier than normal. I don't think he thought I was joking.

"Listen to me. I promised you a lottta caps for bringing me those keys. I don't care how you got them, just as long as you give them to me and Alistair Tenpenny is dead as dust."

"Lighten up you walking corpse." I reached into my jacket. I had found the coat at a trading post for a few caps. I wondered at the time why it cost so little, it thought it was prime wasteland material. It was a trench coat, tan in color and it reached down to my ankles. Underneath it I wore what used to be a Talon Company Mercenary's Armor. Now it was mine because I thought men without heads had no use for battle armor.

The ring I pulled from my jacket had several keys hanging from it. I looked at each of the keys, remembering who they originally belonged to. The men who I had taken the keys from flew to the front of my mind.

"Is that all of them?" Crowley asked. I pointed to each key.

"Dukov, Dave, Strayer, Tenpenny. That's all."

"Give them to me." His hand reached out for the keys. My hand clasped around them, stopping him. "What are you doing?" Crowley asked. Dogmeat apparently heard the frustration in his voice too cause he jumped up with a growl, my fearless defender.

"Do you remember when we first met?" I asked him. Crowley waited for a moment before finally giving in.

"Okay, I'll bite. Yes, I do remember."

"Describe it to me."

"I am paying you for the keys-" My hand slammed onto the table.

"Describe it to me!" I yelled. Everyone in the Ninth Circle looked towards our table. We were getting judgmental looks from them all. Crowley hesitated to reprimand me, and instead gave in.

"You walked into Underworld, for what reason I am not entirely sure, and walked into this bar. You spoke to Ahzrukhal at the bar about Charon. Ahzrukhal told you that if you killed that bitch Greta across the hall at Carol's Place he'd give you Charon's contract for free.

"That was impressive. You used a Stealth Boy to sneak up on Greta while she was on break in the lobby of the museum. Then you shoved a live grenade down her throat. I don't think the cleaning crew has gotten the bloodstains off the walls yet. No one here can explain Greta's death…except me of course."

"Do you remember what Charon did when I told him I had his contract?" I asked.

"Who can forget that little show?" Crowley spoke. "He walked straight up to Ahzrukhal, pulled a shotgun on him and blew him away. It seems like no one dies in Underworld without it being bloody."

I picked up my cup from the table. Water in this world was terrible. Irradiated in the war, the water burned my throat as it went down. I'd learned to ignore the pain over time. The searing agony of drinking water had subsided over time and I had learned to live with it. It's easier with Nuka-Cola. I like myself a good Nuka-Cola. I set the cup down.

"I set Charon free." I said.

"What?" Crowley asked.

"Minutes after Ahzrukhal was killed I went outside Underworld's walls with Charon. After we killed all the Super Mutants on the mall and in the Capitol building, I took his contract and burned it. I told him to go to the Lincoln Memorial for safety."

"The Lincoln Memorial is filled with slave traders, murderers and rapists. Why would you send Charon there?"

"You don't get out much do you Crowley? I cleared out all the slave traders at the Memorial."

"What?" Crowley seemed genuinely shocked.

"Paradise Falls is gone as well. Eulogy Jones is dead."

"Jesus Christ. You're the Lone Wanderer aren't you; the one Three-Dog has gotten religious over? He talks about you all the time."

"I know; my Pip-Boy gets Galaxy News." It was true. For the last six months, Three-Dog, the DJ of Galaxy News Radio, has been spouting off information of my escapades, making me out to be "The Wasteland Savior" as I believe he once said.

"Why would you associate yourself with me? All I've been hearing from Three-Dog is that you are doing everything to save and preserve the Wasteland."

"When faced with death, even the pure can kill."

"I like you're line of thinking." I raised the keys to Crowley's eye level.

"You see these keys?"

"I want those keys."

"Each key represents a period of my new life. I was raised in Vault 101 to be a model member of society. It's different on the wastes. So now, before I give you these keys, I am going to tell you what I had to do to get them." Crowley didn't say anything. He just sat and listened.


	3. Dukov

**Chapter 2 – Dukov**

**Dukov's Place - 2 Months after Leaving Vault 101**

This was it, Dukov's place. Crowley didn't tell me much about Dukov. Only that he was Russian by blood. You didn't see many of them these days.

The way Crowley talked about Dukov, he didn't seem like a bad guy, but he was probably a guy you didn't want to mess with. I heard the word 'quick draw' during the conversation and decided to arm myself with the Shishkebab, the flaming sword I had made back in Megaton.

Picking Dukov's lock was the easy part. The hard part was accepting the other world I had just stepped into. Galaxy News Radio was blasting in this darkened place. I could barely see a foot in front of me in the dark. That's where the Shishkebab came in handy. I flicked on its flame and the sword was set ablaze.

"What you want?" A voice said in the darkness. I heard the click of a gun's hammer and a cool object being pushed against my temple. Dukov was good.

"I just came to talk." I lied.

"Why you have sword of fire out then? Surely you have heard I am a peaceful man these days." The lights suddenly kicked on. The room I was in was a hotel lobby; at least it used to be. I try to imagine the remains of these buildings as beautifully as they once were, but to no avail. All I see now are the ruins that were left behind.

Dukov's place was interesting. He had hold up in one of the only standing hotels in the D.C. area. Hanging from the ceiling was an intricate chandelier that most closely looked like a man and a woman in mid-coitus. What once was a luxurious hotel in Washington D.C. was now a multi-floored sex pad for a possible deranged Russian gunslinger with a bounty on his head. I clicked the fire on my sword off.

"Good boy." I heard Dukov's pistol's hammer cock back into place. "Now, what you want?"

My first look at Dukov was not a pleasant one. Dukov was a bald man, seemingly shaved. But that wasn't his problem. Dukov was wearing what looked like satin (velvet?) sleepwear. More so, his fly was down. Behind him, there were two women who seemed so deep into a drug-induced haze that they didn't even acknowledge my existence. They were scantily clad in light pink nightgowns.

Dukov pushed his gun back into the holster on his hip. He did it quickly. The quick draw rumors I heard were looking to be true.

"I just want to talk Dukov."

"How you know my name?" Shit. I hadn't thought of that. Fuck it, maybe I can reason with him.

"We share a mutual friend. Name's Crowley."

"Crowley? That old ghoul? How's he doing? Last I saw, he was left for dead at Fort Constantine." Wow, maybe this would be easier than it looked.

"He wants you dead." I told Dukov. No sense in being subtle.

"Why would he want that?"

"He gave me a list of guys to kill. Said they were ghoul-haters. You're my first stop."

"Ah, that Crowley. Survives Constantine, now he's out for blood."

"What the hell is Constantine?" Fuck killing Dukov, I wanted info. Crowley had obviously lied to me thus far. He is paying me for this, I needed information.

"Okay, I'll tell you my friend." Dukov turned to the girls behind him. "Star, Fantasia, go upstairs. Wait for Daddy." The whores grunted and walked upstairs, still deep in their druggy haze. "Boy, Jet does some crazy shit." Dukov said.

"Dukov, focus."

"Right, sorry. Constantine is an old military Fort in the north of the Capitol Wasteland. I was part of a team sent there by Alistair Tenpenny. Tenpenny assembled us to find this high-priced weapon in the Fort. I didn't care what it was; I just wanted to get my money." Now I was intrigued.

"I'm guessing the rest of the team was Strayer, Dave, Tara, and Crowley."

"Damn right son! Looks like Crowley isn't as quiet as he once was."

"What happened at Constantine?" A sense of demand was in my voice.

"Constantine was booby trapped. Tara was killed. All hell broke loose. Crowley ended up locked in a room with two feral ghouls. We all thought he was dead for sure. Strayer, Dave, and me got away and never went back to Tenpenny."

"Did you keep the keys?" Dukov looked surprised.

"Ah," he exhaled. "I see. Crowley wants the keys. What the fuck do I care." Dukov turned around and walked to a small table behind him at the base of the stairs. "Here's the key." He singled out the smallest key on the chain and began to take it off the ring.

"Listen," he said. "I was nothing but nice to Crowley. Tenpenny was the racist one. I got no problem giving Crowley the treasure. He can have it. I've got all I want right here. I have food, shelter, women, beds, and all the liquor I can drink stashed away in this one building. I could care less about a treasure locked in some booby trapped Fort." Dukov got the key off the chain and tossed it to me. I caught it with ease.

"Can I get you anything while you're here?" Before I could answer, Dukov spoke again. "Wait! I have the perfect girl. CHERRY!" he yelled. I heard a door slam. From upstairs, a red-headed woman came down. She was dressed just as scantily as the other two women. Little did I know that I would later be escorting this woman away from this place after Dukov left.

"No, I don't think I can-" Dukov cut me off.

"Come now friend! Let loose. Have some fun!" Dukov went to what was once a receptionist's desk that now served him more as a bar. He picked up two bottles of Vodka, went upstairs, and I never saw him again; although there were assorted moans and groans echoing throughout the building after that. Cherry looked up at me, and her eyes pleaded 'get me out of here'.

--

**Underworld – 6 Months after Leaving Vault 101**

"So you didn't kill Dukov, what do I care?" Crowley asked me. "Dukov was right. He never did do anything wrong by me. Cowardice was his only sin, and I have forgiven him for that."

"Dukov gave me this key willingly. But he did give me valued information about you."

"This is why I raised your pay for the job. You came back to me, later that same day I'm guessing, and told me you knew why I wanted the keys. So, I raised your pay to keep your mouth shut." I took another sip of my radioactive water before pulling Dukov's key off the chain and giving it to Crowley.

"I still have a few stories to tell before you get them all." I said.

"Fine, I've got all day."


	4. Strayer

**Chapter 3 – Strayer**

**Rivet City - 4 Months after Leaving Vault 101**

Rivet City. My dad had always said that I was born in the Vault. He lied to me. Rivet City is where I met the doctor who delivered me, Dr. Madison Li. This is where it all began for me.

Rivet City is housed in what was once an Aircraft carrier docked at the Washington Navy Yard. Years after the Great War, the carrier had become rusty and decrepit. It was left in the water after the levels in the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers dropped. The carrier couldn't be moved. Now it just sat in the water, rusted, dingy, and with the bow separated from the rest of it.

Rivet City was home to many of my friends and acquaintances. Dr. Zimmer lives in the broken bow of the ship, so as to keep as far away from Dr. Li as humanly possible without leaving the City. My classmate Butch (after having escaped the Vault himself) spends his evenings at the Muddy Rudder bar downstairs. Harkness still stood guard at the doors to Rivet City, refusing to leave even after I had informed him of his true nature as an android.

"Hello Harkness." I said to him as I passed.

"My friend, welcome back." I passed him to enter.

I was not here to see Dr. Li, Harkness, Zimmer, or Butch. I was here to see the second man on the list Crowley gave me. The man Crowley had known was dead now, but his son now lived in Rivet City. I had to go see Ted Strayer.

Ted was sitting in the Muddy Rudder bar. Butch wasn't in his usual seat beside where Ted was now so I sat in it. Belle Bonny walked up to me, old nasty bitch.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked me.

"Give me a Nuka-Cola Bonny, cold." Bonny turned to the cooler behind her and handed me a glass bottle of Nuka-Cola. The coolness of the fire in the liquid slid down my throat.

"Nuka-Cola?" Ted asked.

"Yeah. What, you don't like it?" I asked him back.

"Nah. Too sweet for my taste. I'd rather curl up with a good dose of Psycho." Oh great, he's a drug addict. Just what I needed.

"Psycho?" I asked. "Isn't that kinda dangerous?"

"Yeah, my wife keeps getting me to try and quit, but I can't stop. The psycho calls to me. I need it." This may be easier than I thought, but I didn't want to start thinking like Crowley just yet. Better to tell him the story first.

"You're Ted Strayer aren't you?" I asked him.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I knew your father."

I also know how he'd died. In Andale there lived two families. Upon my first meeting them, I thought them to be absolutely out of their minds as they still believed it was before the war and they weren't living in a toxic radioactive wasteland. Old man Harris, the only other resident of Andale, warned me to stay away from the Smiths and the Wilsons. When I dug deeper, I found that the two families had become cannibals, randomly picking up passersby, killing them, and eating them. Ted Strayer's father, Jeff Strayer was one of them.

Killing them was easy to me. I burned down Andale months ago. All that was left was Old Man Harris's house.

"How'd you know my dad?" Ted asked me. I didn't want to tell him the truth.

"I met him on the wastes. He spoke highly of you. Said you were the light of his life."

"That's my dad for you." Ted lowered his head to the bar. "I really miss him." Now I felt bad.

"Do you know a man named Crowley?" I asked Ted.

"Never heard of him before now." I thought not.

"Your father knew him too." I told him. "And this man named Crowley did business with your father. Crowley sent me here today."

"Why?" he asked.

"When he and your father did business, something went wrong. Now Crowley is mad at your father. He wants something left over from the business."

"This is the Constantine story isn't it?" I was surprised.

"He did tell you."

"Greatest bedtime story I've ever heard. He never told me the names of the people. The characters were The Adventurer, The Russian, The Snob, The Crazy Man, The Ghoul, and the Girl."

"I believe they are your father, Dukov, Tenpenny, Dave, Crowley, and Tara respectively."

"You want the key don't you?" Ted asked. Of course he would have the key.

"Your father gave it to you?" I asked.

"It's the only thing he ever did." Ted reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chain. The key was dangling from it.

"Crowley sent me to get it." I said. "Had I not persuaded him otherwise, he would have made me kill you for it."

"You can have it on two conditions." Ted said. "First, I want to know how my father died." How did I not see this coming? Of course he'd want to know.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

"Tell me, please." He pleaded.

"He was in the Northwest Capital Wasteland. He had found a map that he said would lead him to a mystical place filled with trees. He called it Oasis. Two weeks after he told me that, I found his body next to a slain Yao Guai and a dead Deathclaw. Your father died fighting to find Oasis." Lying was becoming a specialty to me. I didn't even go into me finding Oasis and mercifully killing the creature that could save the Capital Wasteland from dirt and decay. He didn't need to hear that.

"Thank you," Ted said, almost sobbing.

"What's your second condition?" I asked.

"Don't pretend like you didn't see me notice the psycho in your pocket." I looked down. Sure enough, there was a vial of psycho protruding from my pocket. I had used some of my reserve earlier to take on some Super Mutants in D.C. I always use it in moderation, so I always have some left over.

"You want it?" I asked him.

"I am an addict. Of course I want it."

"I'm not so sure if that's a good idea." I told him. I really didn't. Giving a Psycho addict a dose of the drug was like throwing fuel on an already raging fire. I didn't know what it would do to him.

"Give me the Psycho and I'll give you the key, no questions asked." I was hesitant. This wasn't a good idea.

--

**Underworld - 6 Months after Leaving Vault 101**

"What did you do?" Crowley asked me. He seemed to be getting into this.

"I gave him the dose." Crowley gave out a laugh. Asshole.

"Now that is a great story!" he said. I wanted so very much to contradict him, so I did. I dashed his good time like he had mine.

"Ted Strayer is dead." I said to him. His smile disappeared. "It was a heart attack caused by an overdose of Psycho. It was the dose I gave him that killed him."

I had hoped that Crowley had a soul at all behind his dying skin and rotting bones. He proved me wrong by laughing once more.

"How delightful!" he cheered. "Now, the key please." I honored our agreement and gave Crowley Strayer's key.

"Who's next?" he asked me. "Dave or Tenpenny?"

"You seem to like death and destruction Crowley." I said. "Is that what you like? Does murder and mayhem make you happy?"

"I can't say it doesn't."

"Then you'll like this next one."


	5. Dave

**Chapter 4 – Dave**

**The Republic of Dave - 4 ½ months after leaving Vault 101**

The Republic of Dave is a dry depressing place on the edge of the Northeastern border of the Capitol Wasteland. The closest town to it is Old Olney, and that place is infested with Deathclaws.

The town known as the Republic of Dave was essentially a fenced off area which is inhabited with three metal shacks and a cow pen. The largest of the shacks sat at the back of the Republic. Two others sat on either side of the Republic, forming a square with only three sides.

From where I was standing, it looked like the citizens of the Republic of Dave consisted of only a small family, presumably Dave's. I really didn't want to go there. From the description Crowley had given me, Dave had lost his marbles many years ago. The Republic is just a side product of his raging psychosis.

Dogmeat sat at my side. I had found him last week, fighting for his life against a group of rabid raiders. Dogmeat could fight (that was for sure), but he was also a great friend. He barked at the person walking toward us.

Behind the front gate of the Republic, a girl approached us.

"Halt!" she announced. "What is your business stranger?" Oh great, Dave reproduced, and his kids were as crazy as he was.

"I'm here to see Dave. Do you know where he is?"

"Of course I know where he is interloper. He's at the Capitol Building back there."

"Can you take me to him little girl?" Boy, I felt stupid. I, a trained Wasteland survivor fighting for the others' chance to survive was now trying to reason with a 9 year old guard dog.

Dave was inside the Capitol Building. His office was just a shabby as the rest of the Republic. Only a desk sat in the middle of it, and even then there was nothing on it. Dave sat in his chair.

"Who is this Interloper?" Dave asked. "What business does he have with me, the Esteemed President of the Republic of Dave?" Great, he is just a crazy as he looks. I decided to play it smooth and cater to his ego.

"Oh esteemed President Dave," I think if I lie much more my teeth will fall out. "I am Mr. Lone, an ambassador sent by President Eden of the Capital Wasteland. The President wishes to have a meeting with you."

"President Eden?" Dave asked. "What would President Eden want with my Republic?" Ugh, more lying. I thought the fake name would be too much for me to handle, but it slipped out pretty quick.

"President Eden wishes to conduct peaceful talks with you. He believes the republic would be a valued addition to his reorganized United Nations."

"Aha! Amazing! The fool Eden has finally come around. Soon, we will be by his side, and then, the Capital Wasteland will be ours!" Well, at least he bought it.

"Unfortunately Mr. Lone, I cannot leave the Republic as of yet. Election Day is approaching in the Republic, and I must attend."

"Election Day?" I asked. Geez, this is getting out of hand. Now there's an election day? What else has this wacko come up with?

"Ah, yes." said Dave. "Election Day is the most important of all dates in the Republic. Ever since I overthrew my tyrannical father in the Kingdom of Tom, this Republic has been under rule of democracy. Election Day is a symbol of freedom in the Republic."

As I stood wondering if democracy was any better than dictatorship if the elected man can be elected as many times as he wishes, Dogmeat was circling my legs. He seemed to be getting antsy.

"Who is this creature?" Dave asked me. He inched closer to Dogmeat, and I almost pulled out my pistol. My V.A.T.S. system on my Pip-boy was already set to target the head first, and Dave was lucky I didn't draw just then.

"This is my companion, Dogmeat. I would appreciate it if you were to treat him as if he were human."

"I see Mr. Lone. It is not uncommon for Wastelanders to form friendships with these stray animals. I once had a Jabberwock. It was a frightful creature. It was killed defending the Republic from the great Old Olney Deathclaw escape of aught-five." Now I just wanted to kill him to make it stop. Fuck the key, I'll worry about that later. This guy needed to die.

"Is there anything I can do to help with the proceedings of the election?" I asked, hoping he would give me access to the ballot box. My scheme was already forming in my head. I hope Three-Dog doesn't connect me to this town. Dear God, allow me to be evil just this once. Being the good guy all the time gets tiring after a while.

"Why Mr. Lone I believe there is. There are still great deals of citizens who have not yet voted. Once I can get their ballots in, we may count the votes and determine a winner." A great deal of people!? There's like eight people living here! It's a goddamn farm if anything!

"Who are the candidates?"

"Oh, just me Mr. Lone. No one would dare run against me." What a lunatic. He has an election with just one candidate, and who knows how long he has ruled over this 'republic'.

"Who must I remind Mr. President?"

"Well you must remind my wives Jessica and Rosie as well as Shawna, the woman who runs my Museum, and my son Bob." Okay, first of all, wives? He has more than one? And secondly, how do these people not remember to vote?

"Yes Mr. President." I walked outside and looked around the ranch. I'm not calling it a republic anymore. This is too retarded. I guess before I wreak havoc on this town I'll look around. Maybe there's something worth stealing in this dump.

--

**Underworld – 6 Months after Leaving Vault 101**

"What happened with the others?" Crowley asked me. I had a suspicion that he was just humoring me. There was always sarcasm in his voice.

"I went around and reminded the idiots to vote for their president." I said. "Turns out, I was better at lying than I thought. I convinced Bob and Rosie to run against Dave. Of course, this didn't do much. Dave would still win by two votes if I let this go on. I looked around the place while I was there as well. There were Nuka-Colas all over the place, as well as a nice looking shotgun in the Museum of Dave. So, after marking what I wanted to steal after I took care of this place, I snuck to the ballot box…and swiped out the votes."

"Ah, a rigged election. Just like Eden's. Nice work. Let me guess, if it turned out that Dave didn't win, he'd just think people forgot to vote."

"He was to dumb to even notice his own vote was missing."

--

**The Republic of Dave - 4 ½ months after leaving Vault 101**

"And now," Dave boomed over the crowded hall. Every citizen of the Republic had gathered to witness the results of the election. As I've said, that's not saying much. Hopefully, my plan would click into place easily. Dave would leave his post and I would have a perfect opportunity to kill him. Dave continued his psychotic rant.

"I shall read the results of the sixth annual presidential election of the Republic of Dave!" Everyone else clapped at the announcement. I stood in the back of the room, my arms folded and my head lowered. Dogmeat laid at my feet, uninterested in the lunacy of the moment. The time was nearing. I didn't look up at Dave again until I heard him faltering.

"But…how can this be?" he stammered. "This can't be real…but it is…the winner of the presidential election is…Bob." Bob looked up at his father, visibly stunned. Dave walked away from the ballot box as Bob walked forward, his arms raised in triumph. I alone followed Dave as he stomped out of the room, with Dogmeat in tow.

"Where are you going!?" I shouted to him across the dirt courtyard. "I still need to talk to you!' I lied.

"I am sorry Mr. Lone, but if you need to speak to someone, speak to Bob. He rules the republic now. Hell, it may no longer be a Republic. Bob may turn it back into a dictatorship just as my father Tom did."

"Where are you going Dave?" I was moving closer to him with every passing word.

"I don't know. Perhaps I shall go to Old Olney and establish a new republic. They will write about my adventures slaying the Deathclaws to take control of Old Olney. My new republic will eclipse the old in every way!"

He really was insane. Old Olney used to be a town just a few miles from the Republic. After several Deathclaws were drawn to the area, the town's inhabitants were killed. The ones that survived sealed off the town using scrap metal and other supplies. If Dave went there, surely he'd be killed. And there was no way I was going to take on a few Deathclaws for a damn key. I'd just have to do this here.

"Allow me and Dogmeat to walk with you President Dave." No one was outside. Maybe if I got him away from the Republic, I can put a bullet in his head without anyone hearing it. I had forgotten my silencer at my home in Megaton.

"I suppose I can allow that."

A half hour later, we were two miles away from the Republic of Dave. This is where I would strike. Old Olney was still a while from there and no one at the Republic would ever hear my gunshot out in this area of the wasteland.

"Tell me Ambassador Lone, why did you really come here." Dave was ahead of me. I pulled out my gun from my holster and aimed it at him. The click of the hammer made him stop and turn.

"You're not an ambassador are you?" he asked.

"Nope. But someone did send me here." I answered.

"Crowley…"

"You're the first one to get it on the first try."

"Which ones did you get already?"

"Strayer is dead. I left Dukov alive. Tennpenny's last."

"So you need my key do you?" Dave reached into his jacket. I reminded him I had a gun on him. Dogmeat growled at him, ready to pounce. "I'm not armed. I'm just getting the key." He pulled out a key that was hanging on a chain on his neck. It looked similar to the others.

"I'll take it once you're dead." I readied to fire.

"Before you do that," Dave begged. 'I want you to do me a favor…please."

"What would that be you psychotic freak!" I was really getting annoyed by him. He had insulted my dog and my intelligence, he needed to pay.

"Destroy the republic." This was surprising to say the least. "Bring it down. Kill those people. Make sure you wipe it off the map. Without me, the Republic should not exist at all."

"You want me to kill those people?" I asked. "I thought they were your family."

"They are, but they never truly respected me. All they cared about was power. They turned on me and stole my election." That made me want to laugh.

"I'll destroy you're Republic. I promise." Dave fell to his knees and smiled.

"Thank you." he whispered.

"I rigged your election."

"Wha…" The bullet through his head cut him off.

--

**Underworld**

"Nice" Crowley remarked. "Very good."

"I was quite proud of it myself." I said.

"What did you do to the Republic?"

"If you happen to venture to the northeastern Capital Wasteland, and you see the charred remains of a crater presumably made by an Experimental MIRV "Fat Man" Mini Nuke launcher stolen from the National Guard Depot in Downtown DC, throw down a few roses. Because that's where the ruins of the Republic of Dave ought to be." I think that may have scared even Crowley, because I could have sworn I saw him shake.

I rolled off Dave's key, which was still stained by a bit of blood.

"Shall I continue?" I asked. 'It's just getting good. Tenpenny's up next."

Crowley nodded, and I continued.


	6. Tenpenny

**Chapter 5 – Tenpenny**

**Megaton – 1 Hour after leaving Vault 101**

My legs already ached. The sun of the wasteland beat down upon my back. I had to take the top of my Vault jumpsuit off and wrap it around my head. The town I had walked through had once been called Springvale. Now it was a bombed out shithole, long forgotten and abandoned. Now there was a gigantic monstrosity standing before me, made of what I can only assume to be airplane fuselage. A small robot stood at the front of the monstrosity.

"Welcome to Megaton." The robot managed. Its voice box was wheezy and old, probably destroyed by years of sandstorms. "The bomb is perfectly safe, we promise. Please hold for threat level assessment. Threat level minimal. Open the gates. Open the gates. Welcome to Megaton. Have yourself a nice visit, partner. Need some grub? Try the Brass Lantern. Welcome to Megaton, friendliest town around. Thirsty, partner? Try Moriarty's, coldest drinks in the Capital Wasteland. Welcome to Megaton. Please stand clear of the gate." The Protectron robot continued like this as I entered Megaton's gates.

Megaton was a sight to see. I would later learn that it was built in a crater created by the dropping of a nuclear warhead in the town. The bomb didn't go off and the citizens of the town built it out of pieces of airplanes left behind after the Great War. Houses and shacks of all kinds sat all around the area, winding deeper into the crater, where the Children of Atom huddled around the undetonated bomb, worshiping the Atom, the god of the wasteland as far as they're concerned. To an extent though, it was true. There was no more a prevalent substance on this beautifully destroyed landscape than that of atomic radiation.

After meeting with a few of the residents, Sherriff Lucas Simm's for one (who basically warned me to be careful in his town and to stay in line), I walked up the other side of the hill through a winding maze of airplane fuselage. Moriarty's bar sat at the top of the hill opposite the entrance to the crater. The bar was not much. At best it was dingy. At worst it was filthy. I walked straight up to the bar.

"Whaddya want, you smoothskin?" The man behind the bar asked me. The man's face was horribly scarred and mutilated. I had heard about such creatures as the ghouls. They were former humans who have been heavily poisoned by radiation, making them sterile and eating away at the skin. I had seen pictures of them before, warnings against leaving Vault 101 given as lessons by the Overseer. I wasn't scared of the creature, and my father had always raised me to be courteous, so I spoke to the creature not acknowledging his scars.

"You got some water?" I asked.

"Only some irradiated…wait…you didn't insult me." Here was my opportunity to make a friend.

"Why would I insult you?"

"Well…cause of my scars, my face and such."

"You were still a person once. You've just been…wounded."

"I'm sorry; I've just never met a person who didn't immediately single me out for being a Ghoul…I…thank you, sir."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Friends call me Gob. It's a nickname really; friend of mine gave it to me after noticing I have a problem with shutting my mouth."

"I don't notice it."

"So, what can I do for you friend?" Gob asked.

"I'm looking for Colin Moriarty" I told him. "My father told me to find him. Maybe you've seen him. Tall guy, white hair, probably wearing a white lab coat."

"Nope, haven't seen him. Maybe Mr. Moriarty has though. He's round back; I'll lead you back there." Gob led me back behind the bar to a small room where an angry looking Irishman sat at a desk.

"What da hell is dis?" he yelled at Gob. "What did I tell ye bout bringin people back here wit me? I told ye never ta do it!'

"Sorry Mr. Moriarty. But, this boy here said his father told him to come find you." Colin looked up from his desk to see me, his wild eyes looking over my Vault 101 jumpsuit (of which I had replaced the shirt of).

"Uh, say Gob, what say you leave da boy-o wit me. Go back to da bar n tend to da customers. I got some tings to speak to da lad about." Gob left us to our meeting and the door closed behind him.

--

Moriarty explained everything to me. He knew my father was from Vault 101, said he had known him from before I was born. My father wasn't born in the vault. I wasn't born in the vault. My mother didn't die in the vault. I'm from the wasteland. I honestly couldn't believe it. My whole life had a different meaning now. My father had left to find Three-Dog, that's all Moriarty knew. I had to find Three-Dog.

But before I could even leave Moriarty's, I was distracted again. A man stopped me from leaving. He wore a dirty tan pre-war business suit, a matching hat and a pair of tortoise shell glasses.

"Hello my friend." Needless to say, I did not consider this man my friend.

"Um…who are you." I asked.

"You can call me Mr. Burke. I have a proposition for you."

"What kind of proposition."

'My employer has asked me to find a suitable subject for our upcoming project." Okay, now this was getting interesting.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll be blunt. I can see you're not from around here. This town is a horrid infestation of rats on this wasteland, a black mark shall we say. My employer plans to demolish and renovate this area once we can find a suitable, 'foreman' for the job, shall we say."

"Does Sherriff Simms know about this?" In retrospect, that was a dumb question to ask.

"Lucas Simms is a twit. He is uncultured and unnoticing of this problem. Megaton is unneeded in this wasteland and my employer and I intend to wipe it from existence." This guy was asking for trouble.

"Listen, I may be new here, but I don't think destroying the town without telling the citizens would that great of an idea."

"They won't be around to complain about it."

"Wait…are you talking about…killing the townspeople?"

"I plan to utilize the bomb at the bottom of Megaton to help our cause. The townspeople and the rest of the wasteland would just think the Children of Atom had mishandled the mechanisms in their worshiping." I moved closer to Mr. Burke, and got right in his face.

"Listen to me." I told him. "There is no way I'm going to help you with this. I suggest you leave this town, now."

"I didn't realize Megaton had two protectors. Perhaps one day you and Simms will see my understanding. Come back to me one day and maybe we can work out an arrangement."

"Leave Megaton. Now."

"Tell you what. To minimilize my threat to this town, I will wait for you, and only you, to come back and accept my offer. Keep it between us and I will not ask anyone else for my favor." I was naïve at the time. So I accepted. Burke sat down at his table on the side of the bar and took another sip of his irradiated coffee. I left Moriarty's to explore the wasteland my father had left me to discover.

--

**Moriarty's Bar – 5 Months after Leaving Vault 101**

I walked back into Moriarty's Bar. Dogmeat wasn't with me. I had left him at home for this job. There's no telling what Tenpenny would do to dogs, let alone a man gunning for him. Nova greeted me at the door.

"Hello sugar." She said. "What's up with you these days?" Nova was a nice woman, but a real whore. Moriarty had found her on the slave market and slightly liberated her. She had a room above the bar, but in return for it she sold herself to the bar's patrons. There was only one time I had paid for her services, and that time was unimaginable. I had to say, she was skilled.

"I needed a drink, honey." I told her. "Gob working?" I had grown to like the ghoul, and I only really bought booze from him. He had the best in the Capital Wasteland.

"He's in the back with Moriarty. He should be out in a minute."

"Thanks Nova. I'll see you later alright?" I caught sight of a guy behind her. "That guy over there's checking out your ass. Think you got a fare there."

"Thanks for the tip handsome. Bye" Her bye was very soft and yearning, like a horny woman who loved her job. Gob came out to the bar a few seconds after I sat at it.

"Hey, man." He said to me "You thirsty?"

"You got some Nuka-Colas?"

"Always." He pulled one out and popped the top off. I set a few caps on the bar and downed a sip. I looked to my right. Burke was still there. I'd visit him in a minute.

"I saw your mom in Underworld, Gob."

"You met Carol?" he asked. "How is she?"

"Says she misses you. She told me to tell you to look out for yourself." I saw fresh blood on the side of Gob's face. Moriarty had probably been punching him again.

"You want me to kill Moriarty? I got enough dirt on him."

"One day, he'll get what he deserves." That was all he said.

"You have a nice day, Gob." I got up. I sat down again at Burke's table. He was reading a book before I got there. He lowered his ragged and destroyed copy of _The Postman_ and looked over at me once I sat across from him.

"I knew you'd be back." He said.

"Who's your employer?" I asked him bluntly. "Because I'm going to venture a guess that his name is Alistair Tenpenny."

"I see we have a mutual friend. Yes, Mr. Tenpenny is my employer. Now, do we have a deal on our arrangement?"

"Only if I get to meet Tenpenny." He smiled, and my plan began to unfold.

--

**Tenpenny Tower – 5 Months after Leaving Vault 101.**

In my opinion, the wasteland is better off this way then it was during the time of civilization. I'd done my research during my time in this wasteland. The American Government was filled with corrupt officials with no remorse for their actions against the people of the world in their search for world dominance and a monopoly on the oil business. Civilization has yet to be rebuilt in this world, thus people have reverted to a feudal system of government. Towns can have mayors, dictators, or no leader at all. I've seen it all in this wasteland. And you know what, I'm damn proud to call myself a wastelander. I scrounge to live in a harsh environment ruled by death and radiation, but I think it's a lot more fun than living life in Vault 101.

Having said that, I believe Tenpenny Tower is more of a black mark on this wasteland than Megaton ever would be. At least Megaton took nothing and made it something. Tenpenny Tower is just a bombed out hotel on the southwestern wasteland with hyped up security and a rich guy looking over everyone else with a golden eye and a fat wallet.

As I approached the tower I caught sight of a ghoul at the entrance. He was yelling into the intercom situated on the outside wall.

"You cannot discriminate against us ghouls! We were once people too!"

"I'm sorry," the intercom said back. "I'm just the messenger. Now Mr. Tenpenny has asked for you to get away from his property and has authorized the use of lethal force if you do not comply." The faint sound of a gun being cocked could be heard just before the intercom cut out. The ghoul stepped away from the building and turned in my direction.

"Hey! Smoothskin! You were going to see Tenpenny?" He was visibly angry and I could see his hand reaching for a gun on his waist. I raised my hands in the air.

"I mean you no harm friend." I said. "I'm here to see Tenpenny, but just for business. What's going on here?"

"That bastard Tenpenny won't let ghouls live in the tower. I've checked the lodging forms; there are literally hundreds of rooms in the tower that aren't in use. That racist bastard Tenpenny is prejudice against ghouls and he won't let us in!"

"Us?"

"Yes, there are more of us. We're holed up in the subways below ground."

"Which way?"

"You think I'm gonna tell you smoothskin?"

"I'm a friend to the ghouls. I have a friend in Megaton named Gob. Ask him, he knows."

"I've met Gob before. I tried recruiting him to our cause, the Ghoul Liberation Front. But he denied us. His word means nothing to me, smoothskin. And neither do you." The ghoul walked past me, intentionally bumping into me as he walked. I ignored him and walked up to the Tower's walls. I pressed the intercom.

"Mr. Phillips!" said an angry voice before I could get a word in. "Security will be called to escort you off the premises is you continue to harass us!"

"This is not the ghoul you were just talking to." I said.

"Oh, sorry sir. How may I help you?"

"Mr. Burke sent me for a meeting with Mr. Tenpenny."

"Name?"

"Lone." I had grown to like the moniker, even if I had at first thought it was stupid back with Dave.

"Welcome to Tenpenny Tower Mr. Lone." The gates opened and I walked in. I didn't pay attention to most of the things at Tenpenny Tower. I just followed the guard that led me to the elevator and waited to hit the penthouse suite.

Tenpenny sat on a balcony at the top floor of the tower. He was an old man, wearing a red robe and matching ascot. His hair was silver and his skin like leather. He also reeked of the stench of stuck-up asshole mixed with breath of brandy.

"Ah, my boy! You must be the Mr. Lone Mr. Burke has been telling me of." I turned around to see Mr. Burke sitting in a chair opposite Tenpenny. Well, that ruled out doing the deed right here, right now.

"Yes, I guess I am." Then I sat and we conversed.

--

**Underworld – 6 Months after leaving Vault 101**

"That bastard was keeping ghouls out of his hotel?" Crowley growled. "He was low before, I wouldn't guess anything less of him."

"Tenpenny acted as if his shit didn't stink." I added. "He sat in that goddamn hotel everyday shooting at things below with his sniper rifle. A perfect analogy, the rich eating the poor."

"What did you do?" Crowley asked me, eagerly awaiting an answer.

"You're really into this aren't you?"

"I've been waiting to kill Alistair Tenpenny for years. Excuse me if I seem anxious." I drank another burning sip of water and continued.

--

**Tenpenny Tower – 5 Months after leaving Vault 101**

Tenpenny still sat in his chair on his high-rise balcony when I walked back out to see him. He took another swig of brandy and looked up at me.

"I see you've returned my boy." He said with an evil smile. "Where is Mr. Burke?"

"He was in Megaton last I saw him."

"I hope he is not caught in the blast range. I trust you've rigged the bomb?"

"The pulse charge is waiting detonation."

"Very good." He raised a hand and directed me to a small briefcase across from him where Burke had once sat. The case was open and a lone key sat in the center. This was the detonator, the one that would detonate the fusion pulse charge, and the Megaton reactor core with it.

"Well, I trust Mr. Burke to be along shortly." Tenpenny told me. "I see no reason to prolong this joyous moment any longer. I shall give you the honor."

"Thank you Mr. Tenpenny. It will be my pleasure." Tenpenny lit a cigar and spoke once more.

"I see much potential for you my boy." He said. "Perhaps there is a permanent position in my organization with your name on it."

"I eagerly await your judgment, Mr. Tenpenny." I was lying through my teeth. I grabbed hold of the key on the detonator and threw the switch.

There was a flash. Then, a bang. Then, the shaking wrath of earth erupted from the ground with such vengeance I had to brace myself on the stone rails of the balcony. A blast of air nearly knocked me off my feet and buckled my knees. Tenpenny looked on in awe, but not for the reason he expected.

"What…?" he stuttered. He took the cigar from his mouth and set it down in his ashtray. "But…what's going on here!? Why is the explosion over there!?" Tenpenny was referring to the area the mushroom cloud was forming in. It wasn't in Megaton. The click of my pistol's hammer shifted Tenpenny's view to me. I was aiming at his head.

"What are you doing!?" He screamed. "What's going on here!?"

"It wasn't easy moving the reactor core of the nuke." I told him. "I had to get Moira Brown to help me."

"What are you talking about!?"

"Megaton still stands. The town I just leveled was once known as Paradise Falls"

"Paradise Falls!? But, how did you…?"

"Two days ago, I cashed in a favor with Moira Brown. In return for helping her with her "Wasteland Survival Guide", she helped me move the reactor core of the Megaton bomb. Once I had it stabilized and safely stored, I set off for Paradise Falls. Dealing with Eulogy Jones can be a hard ordeal, especially when trying to buy all his slaves from him at half price. He sold them to me though, once he did some talking with my pistol, like you are now."

"You insolent little…!"

"I smuggled the reactor core into Paradise Falls and rigged the fusion pulse charge with it. With Paradise Falls wiped off the map, Eulogy Jones dead, and his associates at the Lincoln Memorial slaughtered, the slave trade in the Capital Wasteland will all but disappear."

"Where is Mr. Burke?"

"I told Lucas Simms about your little associate yesterday. He went to meet him at Moriarty's. Burke is dead. I shot him after he shot Lucas Simms."

"At least he killed that hack sheriff before he died"

"I'd say that's a fact that doesn't work in your favor."

"Who sent you?"

"Why do you assume I was hired?"

"Would you have really toiled this hard just to kill me for fun?"

"No, I suppose not." Well, time to come clean I suppose. "Crowley, name rings a bell?"

"That ghoul freak is still alive? I thought for sure he died at Constantine."

"Feral ghouls don't attack ghouls. You should do your homework before you leave any loose ends untied."

"I suppose you came for this then." Tenpenny dug into his jacket and pulled out a chain, on which a small key dangled. The last key I needed hung right there, before my eyes.

"I'll take it off your corpse."

"How do you expect to escape Tenpenny Tower?" He was calm now, thinking he had an ace in the hole. "I have armed guards on every floor ready and waiting with itchy trigger fingers."

"You can come in now Roy." I called back into the apartment. Roy Phillips came out of the shadows. The ghoul revolutionary sported a smile.

"How did he get in here!?" Tenpenny was furious.

"The tower is under ghoul control now you old smoothskin." Phillips said.

"Ghoul…control…?" Tenpenny stuttered.

"Underworld isn't the only ghoul safe haven in the Capital Wasteland anymore Tenpenny." I added. "Your tower is fallen, and your empire falls with it." My gun was still pointing at him as he got up from his chair and looked off into the distance. The sky was blackened by the gigantic mushroom cloud that once was Paradise Falls. Black clouds hung in the sky, and the orange light of the sun escaping through crack in the clouds overtook the land.

"It's beautiful isn't it…?" I think he had finally lost his mind. I shot him in the leg once. He screamed, bracing himself on the stone railing.

"You need the key don't you?" Phillips reminded me.

"I'll take it and I'll leave him to you." I tore the key from Tenpenny's neck and left him to the mercy of Roy Phillips. I left to the sounds of blood curdling screeches and shouting. When I left Tenpenny Tower, the crumpled body of Alistair Tenpenny laid dead on the dirt floor of the outdoor entryway among the bodies of his guards. When Roy was done with him, he had thrown him from his beloved balcony. His injuries were too horrifying to describe or even remember.

--

**Underworld – 6 Months after leaving Vault 101**

Crowley was speechless. He sat there with a surprised look on his face for a few minutes before he said anything more, and even then he needed to take a huge swig of wine from the glass he had ordered before he did.

"I cannot describe how proud I am of you." He said. "Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned such a fitting end for Alistair Tenpenny."

"I'm glad you approve." I wrenched the last key from the key ring and tossed it to Crowley's open hands.

"I suppose you'll want your payment now?"

"You promised me a lot of caps Crowley." He chuckled at that.

"That I did." He pulled a pen from his front coat pocket along with a scrap of paper. He scribbled something on it and pushed it to me.

"Go up to Carol across the way. She has your payment in a safe below the cash register in her restaurant. Give her this, so she'll know it's from me." I quickly read the paper so as to know Crowley wasn't setting me up or something. It was just a set of numbers, most likely Crowley's form of an account number. He did seem old-fashioned to me, wanting to hold on to traditions of the world we had lost. I laughed.

"Have fun with your treasure Crowley. Whatever it is, I hope it's worth what I've been through for you."

"Oh my boy, it's worth every penny. Thank you for the stories by the way, they were very enjoyable." With that, Crowley got up and left. I watched him as he left The Ninth Circle and walked out of Underworld for the last time.


	7. Crowley

**Chapter 6 – Crowley**

**Fort Constantine – 6 Months and 1 Week after leaving Vault 101.**

Crowley had been waiting for this moment for years. It had taken him a long time to find a suitable assassin to do his dirty work for him. This last week long journey was just the last wait before his goal was realized. Fort Constantine was almost on the complete opposite side of the Capital Wasteland as Underworld was. Walking there had been harsh. But now Crowley stood only feet from his goal.

It was nearly a year after the failed expedition that Crowley found out just what Tenpenny had sent them to Constantine for. Deep within Fort Constantine, an unused ICBM sat dormant since the end of the Great War. Tenpenny had wanted his mercenaries to not only loot the place of all it weapons and ammo, but he also wanted the ICBM launch codes, which were locked away in a safe hidden in the Fort. With the ICBM, Tenpenny could essentially hold the Capital Wasteland hostage and make it his own.

When Crowley had been locked up in the Fort with the feral ghouls, he had killed them and escaped afterwards. On his way out, he found a set of T-51b Power Armor left behind by the American military. He knew he needed the keys to get to the armor, feeling it was his right to have it. He became obsessed with the armor, going to any lengths to get it. He stalked Dave, Dukov, Strayer and Tenpenny, getting to know how they worked and what they did. He knew he couldn't get the keys himself, and that's why he hired someone to help.

Crowley looked down at poor Tara's body. The corpse lay right where he had left her. He began to search her pockets. In her pants pocket was the last key. A blood stained piece of metal was the last piece of the puzzle he needed to finally get his just rewards.

The stasis chamber where the power armor was kept chilled the bone. It was kept cold and sealed off from the world to protect the contents inside. When Crowley had last been here, he had seen inside the stasis chamber to see the power armor being held there, but he could not get into it. Now he stood there, feeling his goal had been accomplished.

A cold chill ran up what was left of the ghoul's spine. The armor wasn't there. It wasn't in the chamber where it had been when he was last there.

"What…?" Crowley mustered. "What's going on here?"

"Well," I said. "this is awkward." Crowley whipped around to see me. I had followed him there. My gun was drawn and aimed at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me. "How did you find this place?"

"Dukov told me about it."

"That drunken Russian bastard!"

"Now, that's no way to talk about a friend."

"A friend of yours maybe." Crowley took a moment to look around the room. "Where is it?" he asked.

"It's safe at my home in Megaton." Crowley was stunned. He just stared at me.

"Why?" he finally asked.

"You really don't know who I am do you? Let me see, I already told you about Vault 101 and why I left. Well, a few months after leaving the vault, I found my father. He was locked away, being held hostage by a hostile AI at Vault 112. When I freed him, he led me to Rivet City. While there, he told me about a project he and Dr. Li were working on before my mother died. He called it Project Purity. Project Purity was situated at the Jefferson Memorial on the banks of the Potomac River. The project was started as a way to revitalize the wasteland by purifying the waters of the river. We tried to reactivate Project Purity, but President Eden sent Colonel Autumn to stop us.

"My father died protecting Project Purity by flooding the control chamber with radiation and sealing Colonel Autumn off from it. From there, the Brotherhood of Steel helped Dr. Li and I escape. In my quest to get back to Project Purity, I alone attacked and assassinated President Eden. Then, the Brotherhood and I took down his precious Enclave. We got back into Project Purity and then I activated it, running into the irradiated chamber and entering the activation code." It felt liberating to finally tell this to someone. It hurt keeping it in all the time, but the wasteland couldn't know what we had done. Not if we wanted peace and prosperity to spread. Project Purity was the beacon of hope that would save the wasteland, but revealing Eden's true nature would only trouble things.

"How did you survive the radiation?" Crowley asked. No doubt he was looking for flaws in my story, trying to prove I was lying to him.

"I don't know. I woke up a few days later in the Brotherhood of Steel's stronghold. I worked with them to destroy what was left of the Enclave from there. After that, I was allowed to go free and roam the wasteland as I pleased. Then I found you."

"You should at least be a ghoul after that much exposure to radiation."

"Yeah, I guess I should. But I'm not, so there's that."

"What does any of this mean to me?" Crowley asked me finally. "Why are you telling this to me?"

"This has everything to do with you!" I yelled. "My father always taught me about truth and justice. He taught me the world would help me if I helped it. But guess what, he was wrong. If this wasteland has taught me anything, it's that darkness lurks everywhere in this world. There is an evil to every good."

"And you gave yourself to the darkness."

"No. I will never give myself to the darkness. I am not like you. I am not a killer!"

"Look at how you lie to yourself!" Crowley yelled. "You killed innocents to get here. Look what you did to Greta, Strayer, and the Republic of Dave."

"Lies." I said. "Lies, all of them. I told you I was a proficient liar, better than many I had met. I didn't think I could fool you, but apparently I have."

"What?" he said. "What do you mean?"

"Careful little lies I implanted in each of my stories took you in. I gained your trust, and you didn't even know it."

"Explain this…now."

"First of all, I didn't kill Greta. I told her you were gunning for her, and we faked her death. It was a feral ghoul I used to paint the wall with blood. Greta helped me before I sent her away. She lives in Tenpenny Tower now with Roy and his people."

"Well hooray for you. You spared Greta's life. What about Strayer?"

"I didn't give Strayer his final dose. I came back three days after he gave me the key and I asked his wife where he was. She told me he had dosed himself with Psycho and died of an overdose. As per Rivet City tradition, Ted's body was thrown into the ocean, the only true burial of any Rivet City citizen. I wanted to help him, but telling you I killed him just engrossed you more in my stories. The dealer he bought from, I later found out, worked for Eulogy Jones. I avenged Strayer's death."

"I checked the Republic of Dave; it was a crater just like you said. Want to explain that?"

"The Republic of Dave might as well have been fenced off and renamed the Wasteland Mental Institution. Everyone there was out of their minds, including the children there as well. I concealed Dave's murder by bringing his body with me to Old Olney. I fed him to the Deathclaws and waited until there was just enough for me to bring back to Bob and tell him of his father's death. Then I killed the rest of the Deathclaws, and that act gained me Bob's trust.

"When I returned to the Republic of Dave, I told Bob of his father's 'adventures'. I told him a legend about a family called Keller."

"And you engrossed him in a story like you are with me are you not?"

"This wasteland has made me a wordsmith Crowley, but the Legend of the Family Keller is not fictional. Alex Keller was a National Guardsman when the first bombs dropped in 2077. Alex stole the bunker codes to a National Guard bunker so his family could ride out the storm of the nuclear holocaust. But he was arrested and couldn't get in so he sent the rest of his family each one number of the bunker passcode so they would all have to be there to get in. But before they were sent away, each member of the family left behind evidence of their existence. The bunker was a stronghold and would guarantee safety against the wasteland. Bob found this interesting and I suggested he start his new Republic in the bunker so to escape this vile wasteland."

"And he took you up on it.' Crowley added.

"Yes he did. Bob moved his family to the National Guard bunker and gave me the weapons there. I used the MIRV launcher to destroy the Republic to sell my story to you."

"You are deceiving." He added. "I hope your story about Tenpenny is true as well?"

"Oh it is, all I did with that one was leave out a few details."

"And they would be?"

"I told Tenpenny you hired me. He offered me money to kill you, and I convinced him that I had upon returning to the Tower. He was a gullible man, not even asking for proof before paying me in full. He paid me nearly triple to kill you what you paid me for all your targets."

"So you swindled him before you killed him." Crowley began to clap. "Well done. Now, if you would be so kind as to give me my power armor, I think our business will be concluded." I cocked my gun.

"No, I think I'm going to kill you too."

"What?" he asked. "You can't be serious."

"I'm afraid I am." I lowered the gun and fired a round into each of Crowley's legs. He fell in agony, screaming in pain. The old ghoul was too frail.

"How can you kill me?" he asked once his screaming had died down. "You said you won't give into the darkness. You said you weren't a killer."

"I'm not. I do what I can to survive on this wasteland. I kill, but I kill the deserving. I kill raiders, I kill feral ghouls, and I kill killers…like you."

"I'm not a killer. I have no blood on my hands."

"Oh, but you do. Lucas Simms."

"The Megaton sheriff? You'll kill me because of him?"

"I'll kill you because through your insistence, an innocent man was killed. Lucas Simms had a family, a wife and a son. Burke killed him, but his blood is on your hands. It was through you that Lucas Simms came into the situation that killed him."

"So you kill me because of some half-wit sheriff?" I fired another shot into Crowley's shoulder. He screamed.

"Lucas Simms wanted nothing more than peace in his town! Burke and Tenpenny are dead, but it was not their fault. It was yours. You need to pay for an innocent man's death."

"Fine…kill me." Crowley had given up. He knew he had lost. "Just kill me now."

"Oh, not now. You are going to die slowly…and painfully for what you have done."

"What are you going to do?" I fired another shot into Crowley's other shoulder. He screamed one more time.

"I'm going to leave you here, bloodied and alone. You will bleed, you will starve, and you will freeze in this room. You're finished Crowley." I lowered my gun and turned around.

"You think this makes you better than me! IT DOESN'T! YOU'RE JUST AS FILTHY AS ME!" I didn't look back as I shut the door and pulled out the keys I had fought for. I shut the door, sealing Crowley in forever. I left to the sound of Crowley shouting and screaming for help. No one was coming for him.

--

As I emerged back into the blinding light of the wasteland, I thought about what a difference I had made. Project Purity was cleansing the waters of the Potomac River, waiting to revitalize the wasteland. With Eulogy Jones dead and the slave traders cleared out from the Lincoln Memorial, the slave trade in the Capital Wasteland will all but disappear. Tenpenny Tower is rid of its high and mighty tenants and has now become a safe haven for ghouls just as Underworld has. President Eden and his Enclave are dead and their chokehold over the Capital Wasteland has disappeared. The legend of the Lone Wanderer will reverberate all throughout the Wasteland's history for many years to come, and Three-Dog will be my prophet.

But, for now, I simply left Fort Constantine's gates to meet Dogmeat who was waiting obediently at the front gates.

"Come on boy, let's go for a walk." He barked up at me, happy at my return. And I and my dog walked off into the dying sunlight as the sun lowered and hid behind the desolate landscape of this…the Capital Wasteland, my home.


End file.
